Soapbox - For Good

Cincinnati Children's Home leads health care integration efforts

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The Children’s Home of Cincinnati is taking the steps needed to become a national leader in health care integration.

“There are more examples of policies that say we need to do health care integration than there are of actual examples of organizations that have done this and done this well, which tells you The Children’s Home is pretty cutting-edge,” says Barbara Terry, vice president of health care integration at The Children’s Home.

Terry, who says she is passionate about health from a holistic standpoint, has 35 years of experience and recently joined The Children’s Home to help the organization introduce physical health care to its already existing mental health care programs. But she says she is not the only one responsible for the idea of health care integration.

“They’ve certainly been reading the tea leaves and saying, ‘We should think about systems—plural—in this community,’” Terry says. “So you think about mental health, education and human services as systems. We really need to figure out how we integrate systems so that vulnerable children get the care they need—the right care at the right place at the right time—and that becomes huge.”

For Terry, education and prevention are key.

“We know that individuals who face challenges in the mental health arena—typically as they get older—they have tremendous chronic health problems,” says Terry, who attributes the issue to a difficulty in navigating an array of disconnected systems.

To address that issue, Terry envisions a system that recognizes that the mind and body cannot be separated. And while the idea might begin with The Children’s Home, she says the effort needs to span across the community.

“This isn’t just The Children’s Home—it’s about children and adolescents in our larger community,” Terry says. “They’ve been willing to invest in me and invest in this approach, but my vision would be that we need to work with the community. We need to help share successes with the community so that we can say, ‘How can this spread?’ I don’t want the work to be insular. We have to appreciate community here.”

Do Good:

• Get involved by contributing items on The Children's Home's wishlist.

• Volunteer with The Children's Home.

• Assist The Children's Home by donating or supporting a classroom.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Clovernook campers explore community, depth of art

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

For children at the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Discovery Youth Summer Day Camps allow them to further their own skills and knowledge while also bettering the community.

From technology and art activities to life skills and neighborhood involvement, campers can engage their senses while tapping into areas that they might not have otherwise had the opportunity to explore.

Participants at art camp, which ended this past week, have no vision, limited vision or are losing their vision. They created pieces that sparked dialogue about what it means to be part of a larger community. One project involved the campers creating wind chimes made of cat and dog clay cutouts. The kids then donated them to the SPCA of Cincinnati to sell.

“They enjoyed it, but it was very sad,” Art Instructor Scott Wallace says of the children’s visit to the SPCA. “It gave me an opportunity to go into this whole thing about art in terms of how some of the greatest art is not the world’s prettiest, and some art talks about issues and things that are going on and some things that are not great, so it gave us the chance to talk about what’s important.”

Campers also worked together to create a colorful heart made from recycled bottle caps—which can be dangerous if left as trash—as a statement about healthy communities.

“What’s happening is—wild birds are eating them—and they can’t digest them,” Wallace says. “So it’s killing them. It’s so much about recycling. You can take the most insignificant material and make great art.”

Two of the children who worked to create the bottle piece project are totally blind, but by working together with other campers, they were able to create a beautiful display. It's what Wallace enjoys the most because he’s not so much an instructor as he is a facilitator.

“For people who have never had vision—their approach is totally different—because they have a certain way of working and a certain level of expectation for their work, and they’re completely cool with it,” Wallace says. “The blind community and the people who’ve never had vision are fine. I think they get tired of us trying to instill our beliefs, but what I like to do is make the best of the vision they have left. And I just sit back and let them do their thing, but it really shows what community can do.”

Do Good:

• Like the Clovernook Center on Facebook, and keep an eye out for photos of campers' art work.

• Support the Clovernook Center by donating.

• Get invovled by volunteering.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Hillenbrand creates illustrating, publishing opportunities for children

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

When Will Hillenbrand was growing up in College Hill, he spent a lot of time reading picture books at the library, which would make him late for his baseball games at next-door Crawford Field.

“You may wonder, ‘How do we encounter art in our lives?’" Hillenbrand says. "And actually, it’s all around us. We might not realize it; however, the art that engaged me was through storytelling.”

The library was critical in Hillenbrand’s journey as an illustrator and writer, but his journey actually started at his father's barber shop, where he spent time listening to “big fish stories."

“One way I’d kind of disappear in the background easily would be during the summer because my mom would make my dad a hot lunch, and I’d walk it up to the barber shop,” Hillenbrand says. “I’d walk the lunch up there and put it in the hall closet and then sit under the air conditioner and try to become part of the wallpaper.”

Hillenbrand says he remembers one of the other barbers talking to a customer about his other job, which was cutting down trees, and how it was similar to cutting hair.

“So if I were hearing something in that little synopsis, I might end up going home and drawing a person with a forest on their head and a barber cutting it, but it’s comical,” Hillenbrand says.

As a child, Hillenbrand had the exposure and opportunity to not only fall in love with his craft, but also to practice it. And it’s this same opportunity that he’s now offering to other children.

From now until the end of August, children have the chance to submit artwork that depicts their heroes for consideration in Hillenbrand’s e-book, which is entitled Everyday Heroes: Local Children and the People Who Inspire Them.

“What we’re interested in are characters that fall and get up and show us how they manage their challenges and struggles,” Hillenbrand says. “And we cheer for them and want them to do it, and for children, we want to be able to give them opportunities to share.”

Hillenbrand has hosted two workshops at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County thus far, and children have been able to not only brainstorm, but also to dabble in digital media.

“There was a bridge that the children and I kind of walked back and forth across—it wasn’t a podium—it’s not that kind of thing,” Hillenbrand says. “And the library’s a great context because around the walls, you’ve got idea people—ideas that might be a first story—and when they participate, their ideas are validated, and they can feel like, ‘I’m an idea person, too,’ and isn’t that a good feeling?”

Do Good:

• Check out Hillenbrand's library workshop about digital drawing on YouTube.

• Children ages 12 and under are encouraged to submit their artwork to the library for consideration in Hillenbrand's e-book.

• Learn about the variety of ways you can support the library.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Elkins returns gift to Ohio Innocence Project

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Clarence Elkins has now spent the past seven and a half years in his home and around those he loves, which is as much time as he spent behind bars for crimes he did not commit.

About 15 years ago, Elkins was arrested and taken to county jail, and was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison for murder and rape. On Dec. 15, 2005, almost eight years later, Elkins was exonerated by DNA testing, thanks in large part to the countless hours of work invested by the University of Cincinnati’s Ohio Innocence Project—a team of students that fights for the wrongfully imprisoned.

When Elkins first heard the guilty verdict read, he says it took some time to sink in because he kept trying to convince himself that he was trapped in a nightmare or a horrible dream.

“I just thought that it would be over soon, but that wasn’t the case,” Elkins says. “After I was sent to prison, it dawned on me that it was for real, and it wasn’t a nightmare and how tragic the injustice was—not only on me but on my entire family.”

In hopes of helping to alleviate that burden on other innocent individuals and their families, Elkins and his wife, Molly, donate $5,000 per year to the OIP. In the past 10 years, OIP has helped 16 individuals like Elkins remember what it’s like to be free.

The gift, which helps top-performing OIP students further their educations, is more than just a scholarship. For Elkins, it’s a token of his appreciation.

“The students were always—they’d give me hope, and they were so kind—they do great things for people, and not only the people that have the injustices upon them, but their families as well,” Elkins says. “They cared enough about me to look into the injustice that happened to me. I was raised in believing you get what you give—and I always believe that, and that’s what I want to do. I just want to give back to those that give to me—that help me.”

Do Good:

• Like the Ohio Innocence Project on Facebook.

• Keep up with OIP's work through their newsletter.

• Support organizations like the OIP by giving.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Advocates for Youth Education help close funding gaps

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Twenty-five years ago, a group of African American women in Cincinnati came together to begin Advocates for Youth Education.

“There were three ringleaders who decided, ‘You know what, ladies? We can do this,’ so they just invented AYE and got their friends to join them,” says Kathy Merchant, who serves as president and CEO of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and who is also an AYE member.

Like the other 39 AYE members, Merchant’s role is completely voluntary, and it involves donating money out of her own pocket each year to help fund scholarships for minority students who excel in academics and community service.

Through her work with GCF, Merchant says she studies how to eliminate or reduce racial disparities in a community.

“It’s one of the things we’ve studied hardest,” Merchant says. “Making scholarship money available is absolutely one of the ways, so it’s a full circle type of experience for me.”

This year, AYE's group of 40 women was able to donate $50,000 dollars to assist 17 students.

“Even after you’ve pieced together absolutely everything that exists, from government loans and the myriad of checkerboard things available to students, there’s still a gap,” Merchant says. “Data shows that the gap on average is about $4,000 if you’re just talking about the cost of public universities. These grants don’t quite get that high, but they go a long distance toward that make-or-break last dollar between what it takes to go to school and actually being able to do it.”

Merchant sees evidence of the program's value on the faces of parents at the annual awards dinner.

“It’s hard not to go there and cry,” Merchant says. “A lot of these kids are from single-parent houses, and their parents go to the dinner and are choked up because of how happy they are that someone would want to help their child.”

Do Good:

• Contribute to a larger scale scholarship fund, such as the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation.

• Connect with an organization like the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative to find a student to mentor.

• Serve as a volunteer tutor at a nearby school.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Art's impact at Camp Carnegie

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

At Camp Carnegie, children from around the region come together to brainstorm, write a script, perform a play and create their own scenery and costumes. Still, for Alissa Paasch, who serves as the camp's education director, the goal is not to make sure that every child becomes an artist.

Instead, she hopes that young people involved "become well-rounded human beings who know how to communicate, problem solve, who care about each other, and who are using the arts to spur their interest in the world.”

Through this year’s theme, Opposite Land, participants use their imaginations to prompt one another’s creative instincts. Paasch says the children’s caring attitudes find ways to the forefront through the process.

“It’s so much about cooperation and collaboration, and we’re always discussing and responding to things,” Paasch says. “We were doing an activity about imagination and how important it is for us to imagine things and use our theater tools to bring it to life, so then as we were talking, we’re saying why it’s important to keep using our imagination, keep it fresh—even as adults—and one little girl says, ‘In order to care about or work with others, you have to be able to imagine how they feel so you can actually make the right choices.’”

It’s these kinds of moments, Paasch says, that make her realize that even as a teacher who plans each lesson, she can learn from the young participants.

The artistic process at Camp Carnegie enables children not only to learn and grow with one another, but to experience theater and all its elements in just two weeks, which culminates with their own original productions.

“We want to make sure they understand there’s a lot of hard work and perseverance that has to go into creating a piece of theater,” Paasch says. “We want them to feel proud of all the work they’ve done at the end.”

Do Good:

• Purchase a ticket to Suits that Rock to support The Carnegie's educational programming.

• Attend a performance to support the summer campers' work. Choose a session and attend on the final day of the workshop at 4:30 p.m.

• Support The Carnegie by donating.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Engaging diverse communities at Kennedy Heights Arts Center

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Ellen Muse-Lindeman, who has served as executive director of the Kennedy Heights Arts Center since 2008, says the work she does to help build community through the arts is the essence of why she loves the neighborhood in which she works and where she’s chosen to raise her family.

Muse-Lindeman, who moved to Cincinnati in the ‘90s and now lives in Pleasant Ridge, lives within walking distance of the arts center and says she values her diverse and active neighbors.

“The folks are really involved,” Muse-Lindeman says.

And that’s evident through the center’s origin story. It was founded by residents who came together to save the historic Kennedy Mansion from demolition. They not only succeeded, but they turned it into an engaging enterprise for the community and others to enjoy.

“That kind of spirit is the foundation of the arts center and still is a big part of what it’s about in terms of bringing people together,” Muse-Lindeman says. “Arts and culture build a stronger community and make a neighborhood a better place to live.”

Each year, the KHAC engages the public in a variety of ways from exhibitions, classes, camps and even an annual artist-in-residence program.

“We are really looking to not only present a wide range of media and different subject matter through our galleries, and to feature both regional artists and artists from outside of the region,” Muse-Lindeman says. “But in particular, we have a goal of presenting exhibits that create dialogue and that build connections between artists and communities.”

The center’s current exhibition, Visible Voices, merges visual art with poetry.

“We’ll be successful in this exhibit if we engage people in terms of not only experiencing the artwork, but also in connecting with one another,” Muse-Lindeman says. “That’s ultimately what we’re aiming to do, and to also really nurture that relationship between artists and their community and to provide opportunities to work and to encourage that ongoing collaboration.”

Do Good:

• View the current exhibition, Visible Voices, and attend an artist talk or poetry reading.

• Donate to the Kennedy Heights Arts Center.

• Volunteer at the center.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Economics Center teaches biz basics, philanthropy

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

For the past seven years, elementary students from local schools have been learning about personal finance and the ways a market functions.

“A lot of adults don’t understand how a market works, and these kids can tell you exactly how a market works,” says Julia Heath, director of the Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati. “A lot of people think the government controls prices or the sellers control prices and nobody else controls it, but that’s not true—it’s a market that determines the prices—and these kids know that.”

The students know the principles of a market because each year, they get to participate in the Student Enterprise Program’s Market Madness, where they’re given the opportunity to create and sell products.

This year’s theme was based on recyclable materials and re-use, so students created things like bookmarks, bracelets, stress balls, notebooks and magnets.

“Some have their products laid out and are walking around with sandwich boards marketing their products, while others are buyers," Heath says. "Then halfway through the round, an air horn sounds, and the sellers then have an opportunity to change their price. So they see a market at work, and they know that if they’re selling things like crazy off their table, then they need to raise their price. If nobody’s coming by, they need to lower their price or increase their marketing.”

Students also have the opportunity to take a college tour at UC, which Heath says is important because it allows them to envision themselves on a college campus and see if it’s the right fit for their own futures.

Market Madness is an annual event, but throughout the year, StEP’s director, Erin Harris, is busy with the program’s student-run businesses within their own classrooms.

“They can earn money through their business by good behavior, good attendance and good grades,” Heath says. “And then four times a year, we go to the school with a truck that’s got a bunch of stuff in it, and students then make a decision about whether they want to spend their money, save their money or donate their money.”

For Heath, it’s wonderful that students are learning economics principles, but the most gratifying aspect of StEP, she says, is students’ willingness to donate rather than save their money for a big purchase like an mp3 player or digital camera at the end of the year.

“Our most economically challenged schools are often our highest donators,” Heath says. “The class suggests the organization that will get their donations, and often it’s something they’ve had direct contact with—like they’ll choose the Alzheimer’s Association because one or two of the kids has had a grandparent that’s been stricken, or they choose Children’s Hospital because they had a classmate who spent a lot of time there, or they’ll choose the March of Dimes because their sibling has been affected. It’s really quite remarkable.”

Do Good:

• Contact Erin Harris if your school could benefit from StEP activities.

• Volunteer in a StEP school store or classroom.

• Support the Economics Center by donating.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Embracing inventiveness, providing opportunity at Shark Eat Muffin

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Starting her own theater company is something Catie O’Keefe says she’s always wanted to do.

“There’s that internal drive where you want that control for what’s being put on, or you want to see new things being developed,” O’Keefe says.

Though that drive is nothing new, O'Keefe's playwriting ventures didn’t begin until she found she was getting bored with the characters she played in her high school’s musicals. So, she wrote new characters, and, at the age of 16, started turning them into plays.

From 2006-2010, when O’Keefe was living in London and pursuing a master’s degree in playwriting, she started formulating ideas for her future company. And when she moved to Cincinnati, she decided it was time to move forward with her vision and make something happen.

That something is Shark Eat Muffin Theatre Company.

“Cincinnati has a big theater scene, but it’s mainly well-established companies, and there’s some new companies doing some well-known works. I wanted to give a focus to new playwrights and make it a learning experience in a professional environment,” O’Keefe says.

Shark Eat Muffin’s first production enabled a McAuley High School student—now graduated—and an older gentleman whom she says had been writing a while but who had missed opportunities to take her class at New Edgecliff Theatre, to present their work on stage for the first time.

“It’s really difficult to fill the gap of you having a reading of your play, but then what happens?" she says. "How many readings do you have before it’s finally put on stage?”

Shark Eat Muffin’s second production this season, The Space Between my Head and my Body, made its United States debut Thursday at the 2013 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. O’Keefe wrote the play about six years ago, and it opened in London, transferred to the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was then published by an American company in 2011.

“We did a lot of workshops about identity and that feeling of finding yourself—what you look at might not be what someone else sees when they look at the same thing,” O’Keefe says.

Bringing her play from Europe to the U.S. is the first step in creating a company that fulfills O’Keefe’s goal of international fluidity for Shark Eat Muffin.

“We’re kind of starting the beginning of a project where we bring a couple of actors from London to perform in Ohio and move in that direction of connecting different cultures and different people from different places,” O’Keefe says. “Bringing them together to perform great theater is our ultimate goal.”

Do Good:

• Like Shark Eat Muffin Theatre Company on Facebook, and tell a friend.

• Attend a showing of The Space Between my Head and my Body at the 2013 Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

• Support Shark Eat Muffin by making a donation.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Community-based arts involvement with PAR Projects

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

When Jonathan Sears was 16 or 17, he says he was introduced to his saving grace: the idea that he could make a living by doing what he loved.

“I wasn’t the most well-behaved student growing up, but I was always in to art,” Sears says. “I was always drawing and getting into trouble that way.”

When his mother introduced him to graphic design, he says his interest was piqued. And that’s what he now wants to do for others with Professional Artistic Research Projects, which he co-founded in 2010.

“There’s only elementary schools in Northside—there’s no middle school or high school programming—so things are kind of wide open,” Sears says. “A lot of the budding adults really don’t have good resources to tap into that can help further their education, help further their creativity. So the idea is to teach practical arts training—we’ll delve into things like website building, blog maintaining—things of that nature that can maybe spark some interest in creative fields, but aren’t necessarily only painting classes or only drawing classes.”

PAR Projects consistently finds new and creative ways to engage the public in fine arts (for example, there is an “urban-sculpture-maze-of-corn-discovery-experience” in the works), with the ultimate goal being to secure funds for an Art and Education Center for Northside.

Sears says the organization hopes to break ground, or at least have all funds secured by the end of the year. But construction will begin in September on a mobile facility, which will be part of the education center. It will function as a portable classroom and a gallery space.

“For me, I see myself as one of those people who directly benefited from what I’m trying to give back,” Sears says. “There’s so many ways you can engage people with the arts—coordinating galleries and events or working in a museum—just different creative outlets we’re hoping to inspire.”

Do Good:

• Sign up for PAR Projects' email list.

• Attend Brass Meets Bronze June 7-9 to support PAR Projects, the Constella Festival and the MainStrasse Village Association.

• Support PAR Projects.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Good 100's Josh McManus leads Cincinnati improvements

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Josh McManus has been instrumental in implementing innovative programs and community improvement projects in Cincinnati, and he’s now considered a top 100 individual helping to move the world forward by doing, according to GOOD Magazine’s GOOD 100.

McManus, who founded Little Things Labs, says he’s always been interested in the fusion of social good and economic productivity, so he leverages his two interests in ways that prompt community engagement and change.

Over the past seven years, McManus, 35, has launched three place-based invention laboratories and more than 25 community improvement projects in Cincinnati, Detroit and Chattanooga, Tenn.

SpringBoard Cincinnati, a nine-week crash course that helps participants take a dream or idea and, if feasible, bring it to fruition by starting up a business, and CoSign—the first project to move through Cincinnati’s lab Haile’s Kitchen—are two of the best-known McManus-inspired programs that have improved the city.

“With CoSign, I think it gives an entirely new imagination of what signage in the public realm can be,” McManus says. “And it also has a direct benefit to the businesses in that they’re much more visible now.”

CoSign paired local artists and signmakers with small businesses in Northside to bolster economic activity, and it’s these types of engagements that McManus says are necessary in order for individuals to keep up with industry and technology.

“We’re not evolving as quickly as technology and manufacturing have, so I think we’re due a tremendous social revolution,” McManus says. “And in order to do that, you have to have these places where you experiment and try new things and you’re unafraid to fail, so the need for these laboratories comes from this new revolution I think we’re set for.”

Do Good:

• Like Little Things Labs on Facebook.

• Apply with SpringBoard Cincinnati if you have a business idea.

• Like CoSign on Facebook.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council shares cultural experiences

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Through education and exchange programs, in addition to efforts to engage the public in cultural events, The Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council works to make region to be a successful global leader.

“We always say it starts with a handshake and an exchange of ideas to open up a really good relationship for people,” says Katie Krafka, GCWAC manager of operations and education programs. “So the more other people know and the more that Cincinnati is global, the more we can function as an international city someday.”

The organization has broadened its reach over the past few years, Krafka says, as it only reached about 500 students in 2011. But in 2012, it reached out to more than 2,000 students.

In 2012, the organization launched Global Classrooms, in which international students living in the city went to elementary school classrooms to share their cultures with others.

“It’s more than geography, government, religion—we go in with coloring pages, music, food—and we talk about other cultures,” Krafka says. “It’s really impactful because students can relate to another student.”

Though Global Classrooms is aimed at a younger audience, the GCWAC reaches out to all age levels, including adults. But its most unique program, Krafka says, is Model APEC, which is similar to Model UN, but focuses instead on Asian Pacific countries.

“No other Council does this in the country,” Krafka says. “It’s when student teams claim a country, and they research a topic like water rights, land use, trading or security, and they get together with other claimed economies in other schools and they debate and pass resolutions.”

Krafka says the nonprofit’s vision is for everyone in the region to have at least one international experience in their lifetime, whether it’s through an educational program or discussion, eating international food or gaining an international relationship by hosting a visitor.

“We want every person to have a global mindset of some sort and be able to think more critically about the world around them,” Krafka says. “Once people meet someone from a different country and they can relate to them, speak to them, get to know them just a little bit, it breaks down these stereotypes and different walls we might not even know we have built up, so when you hear about things happening in other countries, you feel a lot more connected and sympathetic.”

Do Good:

• Like the Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council on Facebook, and keep up with upcoming events.

• Support the GCWAC, and donate.

• Contact the GCWAC and volunteer to host an international visitor for dinner or a short visit.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Krohn's butterfly show introduces Moroccan culture

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Charmaine Mamantov, 78, came to Cincinnati from Knoxville, Tenn., so she could be with family.

What she didn’t know was that she would find a second family at the Krohn Conservatory, where she’s volunteered for the past five years.

“I’ve worked all my life as a retired college professor, and I can’t just sit,” Mamantov says. “So I looked at several places, and when I went to Krohn, they were very welcoming to volunteers. They made me feel like I was going to be an important part of a team.”

As a key member of Krohn’s team of volunteers, Mamantov has served in a variety of capacities—as a door guard, a horticulture helper, a tour guide and a butterfly show board member—to name a few.

This year’s international show, Butterflies of Morocco, is about more than beautiful butterflies, though, Mamantov says. It’s a cultural experience.

“When you walk in, the first thing you see is a tent with camels, and you go through an entranceway that has all sorts of interesting artifacts,” Mamantov says. “And you really need to take time to look at it really slowly. And not just the butterflies, because when you come out of the show, you’ve had the experience of being in that other culture.”

It’s the ambiance, Mamantov says, that “really attacks the senses.” Flowers continually change; 16,000 butterflies flutter about; water flows; and Moroccan beats and rhythms play in the background.

“Everything just surrounds you—what you hear, what you feel, what you look at,” Mamantov says. “And that’s not an accident. The people that design this do it that way so that when you walk into the showroom, you really feel like you’ve entered another world.”

While the sights and sounds engulf the senses, it’s the message, Mamantov says, that’s the ultimate takeaway.

“It’s particularly important in the current world climate that we come away from the show each year with an understanding that there are many, many other cultures out there in the world,” Mamantov says. “And the butterflies put a peaceful thing over all of it.”

Do Good:

• Get a coupon and visit Butterflies of Morocco.

• Volunteer at the Krohn Conservatory.

• Support Krohn Conservatory.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Lydia's House set to open in 2014

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Between January and March of this year, Lydia’s House went from a dream to reality.

Organizers and volunteers secured donations from enough individuals to purchase a Norwood home, which will serve as a refuge for women and their children beginning in early 2014.

“In our community, there are many people who don’t have opportunities for stable, transitional housing to get on their feet,” says Calista Smith, Lydia’s House board member. “There are often homeless shelters that max out. It’s a day-by-day or week-by-week situation as to how long you can stay in either friends’ homes or shelters, but this will be something they have access to for six to 18 months.“

Though Lydia’s House reached its goal of purchasing a home, Smith says $60,000 worth of funding is still needed, as the home is in need of renovation.

Once the goal is met, however, four women and their children will be able to move in to the home, where they will begin working toward gaining job skills, saving for long-term housing and growing in a supportive and loving environment.

Though Lydia’s House is still in its early stages of planning, Smith says the goal is that women will be able to “grow together in wholeness with their children.”

In order for that to happen, community members will come together to repair the home, paint, provide lawn care and perhaps even donate to adopt a room, but Smith says her hope is that individuals move beyond the notion that financial contributions alone can change lives.

“We really believe that this is an exercise in extended community, in that we need people to be connected—not only, ‘Okay, here’s some money to help someone,’ but really feeling that we have a shared vision of the world,” Smith says. “This is a continued effort for the Norwood community to have a vision of something to engage in that brings the whole community together while uplifting four women at a time—four families at a time.”

Do Good:

• Sign up to volunteer with demolition.

• Read about Lydia's House's pressing needs or consider donating.

• Like Lydia's House on Facebook.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

NEW mentorships promote female leadership

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Amy Armstrong Smith, national account manager at Brown-Forman, says she knows what it’s like to be the only woman in the room.

“I’m in an industry that’s male-dominated,” Armstrong Smith says. “I’m the only woman nine times out of 10.”

When Armstrong Smith first attended an event for the Cincinnati chapter of the Network of Executive Women nearly three years ago, that all changed.

“Never had I been in a room with that many professional women,” Armstrong Smith says. “It reinvigorated me.”

Since Armstrong Smith became involved with NEW—whose mission, she says, “is to attract, retain and develop women for the field of consumer products from a manufacturer and retail perspective”—she’s engaged in a variety of outreach activities for high school and college students. She's also served as a mentor, both for women interested in pursuing a career in the field, and for those already immersed in it.

“I’m mentoring a woman at NEW who just told me she got the promotion that we’ve been talking about and working on with how to position it,” Armstrong Smith says. “And it was so great because when she told me—her success is my success.”

According to Armstrong Smith, the mentorships work both ways because the college students she assists reenergize her.

“They look at the world in a whole different perspective,” she says. “And they’re giving me a new perspective too—a new way to look at the business—a new way to approach it through technology.”

Armstrong Smith says she’s appreciative of the networking opportunities NEW offers because when she graduated from college in the ‘80s, you had to do it on your own.

“I’m with other professional women," Armstrong Smith says. "I’m stimulated—we’re talking about the industry. But the number one reason I do this is because I have a daughter, and I want her to be able to walk into a room when she starts her first career in 20 years as Rosie Smith, just like Tom Smith would walk in the room.”

That’s what Armstrong Smith says drives her.

“I’m so appreciative of the women who went before me, and if I don’t turn around and help Rosie and the generations behind me, women are never going to move the needle,” she says. “We won’t get to our full potential that we know we all can get to.”

Do Good:

• Like the Cincinnati chapter of NEW on Facebook.

• Contact NEW if your business would like to become a sponsor.

• Become an individual member.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Smale Riverfront Park offers family-friendly summer programming

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Nestled between Great American Ballpark and Paul Brown Stadium, Smale Riverfront Park provides the public with everything from green space and gardens to bike paths, fountains, a labyrinth and porch swings that face the Ohio River and allow family and friends to sit back and relax.

For Deb Allison, Cincinnati Parks’ business service manager, the space serves as “the front doorstep, not only to Cincinnati, but also to the state of Ohio.”

To encourage more visitors to embrace the landscape, events will take place from now through mid-September to promote family-friendly fun this summer.

“The Greater Cincinnati Foundation was kind enough to support this new series, in partnership with the Cincinnati Parks Foundation, so we’ve been able to put together this amazing lineup,” Allison says.

The lineup includes events that are divided in three different areas—music, theater and movies—the latter of which Allison says she’s particularly excited about.

“They’re not all just kid movies, but they’re all kid-friendly, so the entire family will enjoy,” Allison says.

Brave is the next scheduled film, set to air the evening of May 31.

Allison says families are sometimes hesitant when it comes to navigating the area and finding parking, but she says she doesn’t want that to discourage them. Most events are scheduled for non-Reds game days, so parking is more available and less expensive.

“Smale Riverfront Park can not only act as the backyard for the residents and citizens of Cincinnati, but it can also act as a destination place for people who have never been or that are coming for the first time,” Allison says. “It’s an amazing, unique oasis and should be explored and experienced by everyone.”

Do Good:

• Attend Family Summer Fun events at Smale Riverfront Park.

• Contribute to the evolution of Smale Riverfront Park by voicing your opinion about what you'd like to see on the park's new carousel, coming in 2015.

• Get involved and contribute.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

GO Cincinnati engages community, serves nonprofits

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

About seven years ago, Crossroads began a transformation that positioned it as more than just a church. Its vision was to focus on ways in which it could serve others—in not just the community, but across the world.

Crossroads’ work with GO South Africa was making an impact in the lives of those battling poverty and HIV/AIDS, but at the same time, volunteers began to think about their roles in their own community.

Modeled after GO South Africa, a team of volunteers initiated GO Cincinnati. It's an outreach activity that started out with about 1,200 volunteers who completed 65 projects throughout Greater Cincinnati in a single day for nonprofits.

“People really connected with the idea of serving their city, and on the front line serving those in need,” says Kelley Kruyer, director of Cincinnati ReachOut projects and leader of GO Cincinnati. “They’re doing the hard work every single day, so we thought it would be cool to thank them for the work they do in our community.”

This year, 7,000 volunteers will combine forces on May 18 to complete 400 projects that range from painting and landscaping to putting up drywall and serving meals.

According to Kruyer, the best parts of GO Cincinnati are the long-term relationships Crossroads has formed over the years with the organizations it serves.

“We know their buildings, their properties, their needs, and we know how to best help them, so sometimes we put together a multi-year plan, and it gives them the peace of mind and helps them to budget so they don’t have to spend money on things that we’re happy to help with,” Kruyer says. “It’s just a really special day.”

Kruyer, who grew up in Northern Kentucky, left her hometown in the ‘80s. During that 10-year period of her life, she says she wondered what she was doing because everyone and everything she loved was here. She says that's the kind of passion for the city that drives Crossroads to engage and reach out.

“We love our city—and by Cincinnati, we mean all of it—from Burlington to Middletown to Amelia to Cleves—the whole Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area,” Kruyer says. "We’re just totally committed to making it one of the best places in the country to live.”

Do Good:

• Find a nonprofit that interests you and lend a helping hand.

• Assist Crossroads in its volunteer efforts throughout the year.

• Like Crossroads on Facebook.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

ReUse-apalooza empowers individuals, advocates

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Designers, do-it-yourselfers, the environmentally friendly and people who generally enjoy a good time will gather May 17 for Northside’s fourth annual ReUse-apalooza.

Building Value and its parent-organization, Easter Seals TriState, host the annual event to raise awareness about reuse and to support on-the-job training and other programs that assist people with disabilities.

This year’s event will include the Designer Challenge, which highlights some of the work BV does. The organization reuses building materials to create everything from useful pieces for the home to works of art.

Items will also be up for auction, and according to Lisa Doxsee, communications manager for EST and BV, it’s a way to “assist individuals with disabilities and disadvantages to more fully live, learn, work and play in their communities.”

Each year, the event raises close to $30,000 of unrestricted funds, which allows the closely connected nonprofits to further their missions by enabling individuals who might otherwise have difficult times securing employment to learn necessary skills and gain experience.

“They just can’t seem to get both feet on the ground at the same time, and they just need some assistance in getting the education or the training they need and the opportunity to learn,” Doxsee says. “When they do, they’re able to move out and get their own jobs and fully support themselves and often start to train others—it’s really a cool thing to watch.”

Not only does BV help put people to work, but the organization also helps keep materials out of area landfills.

“What we do is go into a home, and maybe you wanted a new kitchen cabinet set, so we take out your kitchen cabinets in a way that it can be reused and resold,” Doxsee says. “We’ve taken down full homes and salvaged 60 to 70 percent of the home with the lumber and products that come out of that.”

The ultimate goal, however, is to provide the ability to succeed to those who have encountered barriers in the past—whether those barriers be physical, mental, economic or educational.

“We believe that every person deserves to feel the thrill of success—no matter what that success is,” Doxsee says. “So everything we do is to try to help empower those individuals to find success in whatever it is that they need.”

Do Good:

• Support Building Value and Easter Seals TriState by purchasing a ticket to ReUse-apalooza.

• Donate to Building Value and Easter Seals TriState.

• Volunteer with Building Value and Easter Seals TriState.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Stepping Stones celebrates 50 years of family at upcoming reunion

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

What started 50 years ago as Greater Cincinnati’s first summer day camp for children with disabilities is now a two-site operation that serves about 1,000 children, teens and adults with disabilities year-round.

Stepping Stones will celebrate its 50th anniversary on May 18 with a reunion aimed not just at celebrating the organization’s accomplishments over the years, but it's also intended to bring together the thousands of volunteers, staff members, participants and supporters who have enabled the nonprofit to grow and flourish since 1963.

Deb Alexander, 61, is a retired teacher who started volunteering with Stepping Stones in 1969. She says it was the work she did with the organization that led her down the path of pursuing a career in special education.

“I was a junior in high school—I know nowadays the kids do community service, but in those days, we didn’t really have to do that—and I had heard of Stepping Stones and just thought it’d be an interesting way to spend my summer,” Alexander says. “I didn’t really know a lot about children with disabilities. I ended up just really loving what I was doing out there, and it helped me choose my career.”

Alexander says she remembers fondly what she refers to as “Kodak moments,” where “everything comes together and a child you’re working with can do something today that they couldn’t yesterday, or that they can do something independently.”

It was moments like these that Alexander says challenged her.

“What could I do to figure out how to teach?” she says. “A quote that really stuck with me that I heard once is ‘If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way we learn.' So that inspired me to go on, and I taught for 30 years.”

Alexander is passionate about her line of work, so much so that upon retiring, she returned to Stepping Stones 39 years after her first volunteer experience. She began working part-time in the organization’s alterative education program, Step-Up, for students with autism.

Step-Up, which began in 2004, is available to students who have been referred to the program by their school district and who are no longer able to attend public school because of extreme behavior.

“Just to see a student successfully get through the day without a behavior outburst and to really gain confidence in themselves that they could learn new skills was really neat,” Alexander says.

Though Alexander has returned to Stepping Stones many times since 1969, she says she’s looking forward to returning once again to experience the 50th anniversary reunion.

“It’s a place where we all learn together and have grown together, and that’s such a big part of it—the relationships,” Alexander says. “There’s a lot of people that I think their heart’s out there, and they just keep coming back or they return because it’s just a place that meant a lot to them—the staff as well as the students."

Do Good:

• RSVP for Stepping Stones' 50-year anniversary celebration May 18.

• Support Stepping Stones by donating.

• Get involved with Stepping Stones by volunteering.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Learning to survive, then thrive, at Junia and Company

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Zakia McKinney knows all too well the heartbreak and inability to reach one’s full potential when trapped in an abusive and unhealthy relationship.

“I just thought the world had ended," she says. "I couldn’t trust anyone. I felt I wasn’t worth anything."

McKinney was stuck in a cycle that she says lasted throughout her late teens and twenties. But at the age of 30, she made up her mind that she could no longer live in that manner.

“I had an instance where a young gentleman had beaten me in the middle of the street,” McKinney says. “And I just thought I can’t do this—I can’t live life like this.”

It’s been more than 20 years now since McKinney started helping women, but she says she made a promise to herself that as soon as she was able to help herself, she was going to dedicate her life to helping others by empowering them. And that’s what she’s done through her nonprofit, Junia and Company.

“The word ‘Junia’ means ‘pretty flower,’ and we named it that because we believe there’s something beautiful in each woman to give back to society and the community,” McKinney says.

Since Junia’s inception, McKinney has helped more then 3,000 women do everything from break unhealthy relationship cycles to gain confidence and leadership skills and move closer to attaining their life goals.

McKinney, who recently celebrated her 57th birthday, says a few of Junia’s former clients attended her party to thank her for the changes they were able to make in their lives.

“One was a young woman who we picked up from Anna Louise Inn, and our programming turned her life around—she has a beautiful little girl—she’s going to start her own daycare business, and her husband’s going to start a photography business,” McKinney says. “Another, who we found sitting in the corner with her head down with a beautiful head of hair. Now she works as a machinist who does phenomenal work—and she’s looking to move in to other parts of the country utilizing the skills she’s acquired because she had the confidence to go after it.”

Through Junia and Company’s Ann’s House—one of three homes in the city that accept women and their children—women are given the opportunity to learn life skills and participate in all of Junia’s programming so they can break the cycle of homelessness and learn to not only survive in their community, McKinney says, but also to thrive.

Women learn computer skills. They learn to cook. They contribute to the home once they find employment. They create a savings account. They tend the garden, and they even make a cucumber salsa, which they package and sell at Lettuce Eat Well Farmers' Market.

“Whatever proceeds are made for that day, they get to put in their pocket,” McKinney says. “We try to make sure they get what we consider our 55 key life areas to have them sit on their feet, stand on their feet and stay on their feet.”

Do Good:

• Support Ann's House by partcipating in Ann's House 5K Run/Walk at Winton Woods on May 18.

• Call (513) 544-6957 to support Junia and Company by donating.

• Contact Junia and Company to volunteer at Ann's House by helping with the garden or collecting and delivering in-kind donations such as sheets and toiletries.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Being the Somebody at Lighthouse Youth Services

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

There are more than 850 children in Hamilton County who are currently placed in out-of-home care, according to Jami Clarke, program director of Lighthouse Youth Services' foster care division. That means there is an ever-growing need for foster parents within our community.

To raise awareness about the need for foster parents, and to celebrate National Foster Care Month and the local successes LYS has seen during the past year, the nonprofit will host its second-annual Be The Somebody March May 11.

“On a daily basis, we’re getting calls for sibling sets of two and three children at a time who are being displaced from their homes and who are in need of temporary care for six months to four years,” Clarke says. “And we’re trying to match them so it’s possible within their same school district—within the same community—so they can continue to have visitation with their family members, and we can work toward reunification.”

Clarke says the separation of siblings is often even more traumatic for children than being separated from their parents, so it’s especially important that the organization find foster parents who are willing to take on the responsibility of not just one child, but two, three and sometimes four or five children at a time.

Tasha Boyd, 33, is a North College Hill resident, who is one of those more-than-willing foster parents. She has been with LYS since 2007, and has been a foster parent for about eight years.

Boyd, who initially thought about running a daycare because she says dealing with kids is her "specialty," started to look into foster care instead. She says she understands that there are many children in our community “who need love.”

“A lot of homes are broken, and there are a lot of homes out there that can help,” Boyd says. “We need foster parents out here. It’s a hard thing to do, but at the same time, you’re rewarded every day—it’s a blessing.”

Boyd, who has a soon-to-be 14-year-old son of her own, says she loves what she does and that her son has “no problem sharing his mother” with the 10 children she has brought into their home over the past five years.

She currently has a sibling set of two girls in her home, and for the first time in her life, Boyd will transition from foster care to adoption. The mother of the two girls has decided to release her rights because she can no longer care for them due to mental health issues.

“The two have been in the house since they were nine months old and three days old," Boyd says. "I’m all they know. I was not going to turn my back on them.”

Do Good:

• Sign up for the Be The Somebody March and picnic lunch.

• Learn more about becoming a foster parent.

• If foster parenting is not for you, but you would like to help, consider becoming a mentor. Contact Jami Clarke for more information.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Teens create, learn, grow through ArtWorks' summer jobs

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

When it comes time for teens to find summer jobs, becoming a muralist doesn’t typically top the list of possibilities. Unless you live in Cincinnati.

With ArtWorks’ Adopt-an-Apprentice campaign, however, 110 teens from around the city will be hired to collaborate with each other and community partners to create 10 new murals this summer.

For Kyra Watkins, who has been an Apprentice since her freshman year of high school and who hopes to finish out her senior year with yet another apprenticeship, the opportunity is full of benefits.

“Besides the fact that you become a muralist in your own right—because that’s not a profession even most adults have—[ArtWorks] always cared about the youth,” Watkins says. “It’s not just, ‘Give a child a paintbrush, and if they do well, you pay them.’ They set up financial sessions and youth nights where you get paid to learn how to manage your money, to budget your money and to be smart.”

Watkins says the experience is particularly beneficial because each set of teenagers works under a project manager who helps them learn to identify their skills, learn new ones and ultimately work together to create a final product.

A new addition to this year’s campaign will be the involvement of ArtWorks’ SpringBoard business graduate, Chef Frances Kroner, who will lead a select group of Apprentices in developing, producing and selling a new snack mix. Apprentices involved in that project will experience the summer program's first-ever entrepreneurial opportunity.

For students who are passionate about art and who want to make it part of their lives, being an Apprentice allows students to gain real-world experience while leaving a lasting impression on the city.

Watkins, a senior at Withrow University High School, will soon graduate and begin a new chapter in life as she pursues a degree in political science with aspirations to go to law school. But no matter where she goes, she says, a part of her will always be in Cincinnati.

“No matter where I travel, my art will always be here—it’s very homey, like you left something at home and you always have something to come back to,” Watkins says.

Do Good:

• Help employ an Apprentice by donating to the Adopt-an-Apprentice campaign.

• Like ArtWorks on Facebook.

• Get involved with ArtWorks by volunteering.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

BOOST partners with Dress for Success Cincinnati to inspire women's confidence

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Jenny White, owner of BOOST, says she’s always loved giving back, and now that she’s a business owner, she has a platform to better serve others.

BOOST, an offsite meeting space, was intended to boost productivity and creativity. After contemplating what nonprofit would best fit the BOOST business model, White decided to partner with Dress for Success Cincinnati to inspire confidence in women who are searching for jobs, but may not have the needed professional attire they need for job interviews.

“It’s rewarding to give back in any way, but when I think of specifically working with Dress For Success Cincinnati, it means even more because it’s woman-to-woman,” White says. “It’s very empowering to me as a woman to know that I’m helping empower other women to move in a positive direction.”

Both the downtown and Mason locations of BOOST now have collection areas, and meeting attendees are encouraged to bring in any unneeded professional attire that could benefit DFS Cincinnati’s clients.

“I just found it to be a simple and convenient way for our meeting attendees, as well as BOOST, to make a significant difference in women’s lives,” White says. “Even our male attendees can get involved, talk to their wives, see what they don’t want anymore and bring it in.”

White says the new collection sites should be particularly helpful because DFS Cincinnati’s only drop-off locations are downtown and in College Hill. With a location in the northern suburbs, more clothes will start to come in.

In addition to providing women with business attire, DFS hosts self-esteem workshops to further encourage women to succeed. As a result of the new partnership, White says she’s getting ideas about how to successfully run selfesteem workshops of her own.

Enabling women to feel better about themselves is a mission White can get behind and one she understands personally.

White says she was picked on as a child, and it kept her from doing things that she otherwise would have done. By the end of the year, White says she’s determined to host a workshop for young girls to "boost" their confidence as well.

With the new DFS and BOOST collaboration, the ultimate goal for White is that women no longer have obstacles that hold them back from moving with their lives.

“I firmly believe that if you’re looking good, then you’re feeling good, and you’re dedicating more of your whole self to that interview,” White says. “I hope the clothes they put on will give them the boost of confidence that they need to acquire a job.”

Do Good:

• Donate women's business attire and accessories to Dress for Success Cincinnati at one of their drop-off locations, or at the downtown or Mason BOOST meeting space.

• Support Dress for Success Cincinnati by making a financial contribution, volunteering or hosting your own clothing drive.

• Like Dress for Success Cincinnati and BOOST on Facebook.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Library garners national attention, celebrates with Amnesty Day

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is one of 10 recipients out of 140,000 libraries and museums across the country to receive this year’s National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

The award recognizes outstanding service to communities. So, in appreciation of library users and as a way to celebrate, the PLCHC will offer a Fine Amnesty Day May 15.

“We really wanted something to express our appreciation to the community, and we started thinking about what is it that people hate most about the libraries—we all know that—the fines,” says Kim Fender, Eva Jane Romaine Coombe director. “I’ve been here 25 years, and we haven’t done this in my time here at all, but our hope is that people who have not used the library because of their fines come in and have those fines removed and come back to the library and get their cards started up again.”

Fender says the library most likely wouldn’t have received the award without the support of the community, because the library’s heavy usage was one reason the Institute of Museum and Library Services was so impressed.

With more than 17.6 million items borrowed in 2011, the PLCHC is considered the eighth-busiest library in the nation, and its commitment to providing academic assistance and encouragement to both children and adults is evident through the variety of programs it offers and successfully implements through its partnerships with other community-based organizations.

Last summer, for example, the library partnered with Cincinnati Public Schools and the Freestore Foodbank to serve about 7,000 meals to children.

“That’s something people don’t normally think of libraries doing,” Fender says. “But when they were in there eating, they could sign up for summer reading or programs.”

Fender says the library staff also goes out of its way to make sure children are learning by actually attending school.

“If we see kids in the building during school hours and we think they might be truant, we check up and say, ‘What school do you go to?’ and look at the school calendar, and we call someone from the school to let them know because they have to be in school to learn,” Fender says.

Fender will travel to Washington, D.C. with Amina Tuki, a local resident who came to Cincinnati from a small village in Ethiopia who was not fluent in her native language, but who learned English by picking up a small book called Coming to America at the PLCHC.

“She says it took her all day, but she made her way through it, and she took it home and read it to her husband and children, and her older son started crying,” Fender says.

Fender and Tuki will accept the award May 8. Library users can celebrate Amnesty Day May 15 by taking their library card to any local branch.

Do Good:

• Go to your local branch and have fines removed May 15 so that you can begin to use the library's resources.

• Sign up for a library card if you don't already have one.

• Support the library.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Executive Service Corps volunteer learns new lessons

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

For Fred Heyse, a local volunteer who has donated more than 400 hours this year to Executive Service Corps of Cincinnati, volunteering isn’t a way for him to “give back,” he says. It’s a way for him to simply do his part.

“In a community, we’re all in it together, and somebody’s got to do the work,” Heyse says. “If we always have the mindset to let somebody else do it, we’re not going to get as much done as we should. So we all have a responsibility to chip in and do a little bit.”

Heyse, 70, has volunteered with nonprofits since 1995, and he says he began because he didn’t do enough of it when he was younger, when life seemed to revolve around his work and family.

“My priorities were skewed,” Heyse says. “So, I’m doing a lot of it now—it’s to make up and give my share.”

Though Heyse has volunteered with countless nonprofits in the community, he says two of the more notable experiences came from the work he did for organizations he never even knew existed prior to his involvement: a resident camp for Jewish children and the Marva Collins Preparatory School.

“You don’t hear a lot about the nonprofits in our day-to-day activities that are really doing a lot of good things out there unless they’re really big,” Heyse says. “But there are a lot more of them out there, and ESCC finds them, and I get put to work on them.”

ESCC volunteers work primarily in the field of business management, so Heyse, whose background is in information systems, helped the two organizations develop marketing strategies to reach more individuals.

Heyse said the Marva Collins Preparatory School, for example, hadn’t had the opportunity to compile results of where their students were going after graduation, so he did the data analysis to show parents that the school was successful.

“It’s a school for troubled and underprivileged kids, and I never even knew they were effectively running boarding schools,” Heyse says. “But they made productive kids in society, and it was a good way of making sure no kid got lost. Many of them went on to excellent colleges, and so they’re not just surviving in society, but they’re really thriving—they’re very successful kids.”

It’s these types of success stories that Heyse says are important to share and to foster as a neighbor and community member.

“At 70, I’m still learning and still growing—I not only get the thanks and appreciation from them, but I learn more about how things work and how people work, and so I’m still learning myself,” Heyse says. “That is a big part of my life. I don’t want to just sit around and stagnantly grow old. I’m able to contribute, and I’m also able to keep learning.”

Do Good:

• Call 211 or visit the United Way's website to examine your interests and strengths, then choose an organization to volunteer for.

• If you are interested in business management and have business skills, volunteer through ESCC.

• Donate to ESCC to help the organization assist other nonprofits in need.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

St. Vincent de Paul partners with local business to fill food void

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

About 300,000 individuals within the Tri-State area are food insecure; and about 100,000 of them are children.

“The economic crisis over recent years is not news to anybody, and unfortunately, that’s had a strong impact on the people in this community—especially a lot of middle-class families who have traditionally worked hard and been able to provide for themselves,” says Eric Young, community relations manager of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

According to Young, many of those individuals in need of food are now coming to SVDP for the first time in their lives.

“We’ve heard far too often, ‘I used to donate to you guys, and I never thought I’d be on this end of things and have to come to you for help,’” Young says.

At a time of year when food supplies donated during the holiday season are gone, and as schools approach summer vacation, SVDP and other local food providers are struggling.

“Schools are a source for a lot of food drives, and during the summer, those drives don’t happen,” Young says. “And at the same time, there’s a lot of students who receive a meal at school, and for many of them, that’s the best and most nutritious meal they receive all day. And when summer comes, there are some programs that allow students to get these meals, but for far too many, they don’t get them.”

It’s more important than ever, Young says, that communities come together to help neighbors in need.

One way the organization is succeeding at this is through a partnership with local Papa John's Pizza restaurants, where patrons will receive free pizza for their canned food donations. It's an effort to assist SVDP by turning 20,000 pizzas into enough non-perishable donations to provide 120,000 meals to those in need.

“It really is a neighbor-to neighbor program,” Young says. “There are groups in Clermont County who are collecting donations at stores from Clermont." The same program is going on in Butler County and Northern Kentucky, and that food will all be used in those counties, he says.

SVDP also provides person-to-person assistance by visiting clients and providing everything from clothing and furniture to assistance with rent, utilities and even prescription medication. While it’s not unusual, Young says, to see a hug or a handshake, it’s ultimately food that is at the core of the organization’s mission.

“I can’t stress enough how basic, how important food is,” Young says. “There are things you can find ways around, but you have to eat to survive.”

Do Good:

• Participate in the SVDP/Papa John's Food Drive.

• Provide financial support to SVDP.

• Donate items to SVDP and call 421-CARE for free pick-up.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

UC College of Law faculty teach in, fund scholarships

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

When the Office of Admissions expressed concerns about declining enrollment within the University of Cincinnati College of Law, faculty members decided to take a proactive approach.

“The thought was that because we’re small, it wouldn’t really take that much to make a difference in the composition of our class,” says professor Marjorie Aaron.

Professor Christopher Bryant invited faculty members to talk about their concerns, and after a few meetings, the group proposed creating new scholarships that would be funded by faculty contributions. In order to raise funds, faculty would also host a teach-in, where local law professionals could receive continuing legal education, and in the process, ease the burden of financial debt for current and prospective students.

More than $50,000 has been raised since the creation of the College of Law Faculty Scholarship Fund—with $10,000 raised in a single day at the March teach-in.

“We went in with the focus to use what we do and what we like to do to help them, but there were a lot of unanticipated benefits, and maybe the most significant is that it really built a foundation for an ongoing relationship between the law school and what the needs are from the firms downtown,” Bryant says.

“That was already happening, but I think we kind of institutionalized that in a way that gives real promise for the future. The mission of the university is to be a resource for the community—and there’s appetite for that.”

And the verage student loan debt for UC Law’s 2012 graduates was about $84,140 per person, according to UC Law’s financial aid website. Student representatives were able to speak about the burden of loans at the teach-in.

Aaron says their words echoed issues common in legal education today. “If you had a dream to work in public interest, it becomes much harder to do that when you have an enormous debt burden,” she says. “So they did talk about that fact, but also the idea that no one wants to make a foolish financial move when they’re starting out.”

Since faculty members want their students to be able to pursue their passions, they’ve contributed $40,000 on their own to assist with funding.

“We’re a really tiny faculty—we don’t have 30 people,” Aaron says. “But we really know our students and we care about our students, and that was true before the debt issue and it’s even more true now. And the fact that we were able to raise as much money as we did and generate the willingness to volunteer is a testament to how strongly we feel about supporting our students.”

Do Good:

• Support UC Law.

• Volunteer your time and knowledge.

• Like the University of Cincinnati College of Law on Facebook.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

A day in the life of a Cincinnati Rollergirl

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to live a day in the life of a Cincinnati Rollergirl, you’ll have your chance, should you bid on that prize and win the auction item at The Cure Starts Now Foundation’s sixth annual Once in a Lifetime Gala & Auction.

Christina Kuhnhein, also known as “Ruthless Chris,” has been skating with the Rollergirls for two years, and she says the winner of the auction will experience first-hand how seriously the skaters take their sport.

“We’re confident, very focused," Kuhnhein says. "Everyone has their own thing in the locker room—some are quiet and listening to their playlist that’s going to pump them up, and some are very excited and yelling and trying to pump everybody else up. But it’s a very serious environment—we want to win. Our coach usually gives us a pretty good pep talk beforehand, and we just go over what we’ve been doing in practice—our strategy—remaining in control and confident and calm.”

The auction winner will sit in on pregame and halftime locker room sessions, in addition to receiving a private practice session, VIP tickets to the final home game of the season, a two-and-a-half hour standard practice session with the Girls, and what Kuhnhein says the team refers to as “lots of swag”—T-shirts and other gear.

Rumor has it there will even be a gift certificate for a tattoo included in the package. “Rollergirls have this reputation of having all these piercings and tattoos, and it’s such a tough sport,” Kuhnhein says. “And I will say that I’ve never seen so many tattoos since I’ve started hanging in this circle, but honestly, it’s just something fun.”

Kuhnhein says she remembers watching RollerJam back in the '90s. There was a “lot of fast skating and theatrics,” but the sport is much different now because “people aren’t as concerned with how they look.”

“It used to be about outfits and trying to show off, but now it’s much more athletic—it’s teams that are very serious about strategy, working together and really killing the other team," she says.

While Kuhnhein says she loves the aggressiveness and the stress relief she gets from skating, she’s just as passionate about giving back.

“It is an honor to go out and help other charities in our city, and helping local businesses—we have a lot of fans that have certain charities that are close to their hearts, and we try to help in any way we can,” Kuhnhein says. “We’re doing at least one if not two or three charity events a month.”

The Once in a Lifetime Gala is circus-themed and features live performers from the Cincinnati Circus, in addition to special guest and daredevil Nik Wallenda. The event takes place May 4 and helps fund pediatric brain cancer research.

Do Good:

• Support The Cure Starts Now Foundation by purchasing a ticket to the Once in a Lifetime Gala & Auction.

• Check out and bid on available auction items.

• Like the Cincinnati Rollergirls on Facebook, and follow The Cure Starts Now Foundation on Twitter.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Children, Inc. merges with VISIONS, extends reach to Ohio

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The best communities have a lot of people who get involved, according to Rick Hulefeld, founder and executive director of Children, Inc.

Children, Inc., a Northern Kentucky based nonprofit, aims to ensure that young people are successful both in school and in life. And a primary way in which the organization succeeds in doing that is by developing partnerships with schools and other community-based nonprofits in order to maximize resources to help as many as possible.

Its most recent partnership is with Cincinnati’s VISIONS Community Services, which sought out Children, Inc., as a partner for a merge. With the merger comes a new division of Children, Inc., which will now operate in both Kentucky and Ohio.

As a result of the merger, Children Inc. will continue its programs, which include everything from before- and after-school care to service learning initiatives in schools, while building its programming by incorporating VISIONS’ multi-generational approach.

“They had something unique,” Hulefeld says. “They had a certified family counselor on staff who would meet on a regular basis to help—that’s a model that needs to be carefully expanded and taken to the next level. But we want to do something VISIONS has already been doing, and then bring a lot more resources to it.”

One way of doing that, Hulefeld says, is to partner with other organizations that have similar goals.

“There are organizations who really want to help families to become self-sufficient,” Hulefeld says. “Sometimes, little things get in the way of big dreams.”

If organizations could partner to provide families with funds for bus fare to get to job training, and if they could also enroll their children in the center, Hulefeld says the children would ultimately do better in school “because they won’t always be at the mercy of the next financial crisis.”

“We can’t live in communities where just a few people do everything,” he says. And it’s this motto that makes its way into the service learning initiatives that Children Inc. sets up in local schools so that students can learn by doing, while also giving back and making a difference during the process.

Recently, the organization set up a project for a group of first grade students who were learning about the effects of the sun.

“If you get too much of it, it’s bad,” Hulefeld says, so Children’s Inc. provided the school with funds to purchase bracelets that would change color based on how much sunlight the wearer was getting. The students then sold the bracelets and made $843, which they gave to Shriners Hospital for Children to help provide funds for burn victims.

“What you really want to teach kids is that you can make a difference—and not some day—you can make it now,” Hulefeld says. “We all know that we cannot by ourselves do what the community needs us to do. None of us can do this by ourselves, but we can get together with other people and figure out, ‘How do we do what we’re doing better?’”

Do Good:

• Like Children, Inc. on Facebook.

• If you are a teacher interested in a service learning program, contact Children, Inc. for free assistance.

• Contribute by making a donation to Children, Inc.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Santa Maria promotes healthy living, helps clients navigate healthcare system

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Santa Maria Community Services’ Health and Wellness Program has served as a vital resource for uninsured and underinsured Price Hill residents and Cincinnati community members since 2001.

About 30 percent of the organization’s clients are Spanish-speaking individuals who are new to the country and need assistance when it comes to navigating the healthcare system.

“We have a pocket here,” says Laura Brinson, director of the wellness program. “Some of the Spanish speakers come from very rural pockets of Central American countries—Guatemala is a big one in this part of town. And a lot of the clients we serve need that extra helping hand to get access to needed medical services.”

Brinson says clients are particularly grateful that there are individuals who are willing to help them—so much so that at the organization’s most recent health fair this month, two clients wanted to give back because of the services Santa Maria had provided them in the past. So they and their reggae band played for participants.

Santa Maria provides two health fairs a year with free screenings and health-related information, but Brinson says the nonprofit tries to go above and beyond the typical format for a health fair.

“We collect results for each person at the health fair, and then instead of sending them on their way and giving them a flier because their cholesterol may be high, we follow up with each and every one of the clients to make sure they understood their results and also help them get into a medical home,” Brinson says.

“They might not have a primary care physician to go talk to about their results, so we follow up and help them enroll in a clinic, we provide education, answer questions—we try to work with them throughout the year and make sure they get the help they need to help improve their outcomes.”

In addition to offering health fairs and providing general assistance with finding doctors and understanding transportation routes to clinics and pharmacies, the wellness program provides translators who can explain medical information to clients and help individuals fill out financial aid forms for treatment. They even offer cooking classes that emphasize healthy options.

“Good health is essential to all things in life," Brinson says. "You can’t be a productive worker at your job if you’re not healthy—you can’t be a parent to the best of your ability if you’re not healthy yourself. So many people lack access to proper care, and I’m passionate about making sure they get the services they need so they’re able to take better control of their lives, their health and feel better so they can be more proactive and productive members of their society.”

Do Good:

• Take your family to Carnival the Day Away at Washington Park on May 11. All proceeds benefit Santa Maria Community Services.

• Support the Wellness Program's efforts by registering to attend the Bienestar Recognition Luncheon.

• Support Santa Maria by donating money or items to the organization.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.